Padres-Rockies Preview

Don't try telling Jorge De La Rosa that Coors Field is still a hitters' paradise.

The left-hander tries to continue his impressive season in Denver when his Colorado Rockies face the San Diego Padres in Wednesday's finale of this three-game set.

De La Rosa (11-6, 3.26 ERA) is 7-1 with a 2.59 ERA at hitter-friendly Coors Field. That ERA is six-tenths of a run lower than the previous best in stadium history over a single season - Ubaldo Jimenez's 3.19 in 2010 - consisting of at least eight starts.

He has allowed one run or fewer in four straight home starts and allowed just two home runs in 62 2-3 innings in Denver.

De La Rosa picked up another win at Coors on Friday, scattering eight hits and three walks to allow a single run in five innings of a 10-1 victory over Pittsburgh. Six hits and two walks came in the first two innings.

"The game could've gone either way early," manager Walt Weiss told the team's official website. "That's a great job of minimizing some damage there."

De La Rosa's struggles haven't been limited to Friday's early innings, though. He's allowed 33 baserunners in 14 innings over his last three outings and hasn't made it more than six innings in nine straight starts.

Though his record doesn't show it, De La Rosa's home outings versus San Diego (54-65) have generally been a disaster. He has a 7.12 ERA in his past seven starts against the Padres in Denver - allowing five homers in his past 22 1-3 innings - but is 3-1 thanks to a 9.57 run-support average.

San Diego's Andrew Cashner (8-6, 3.87), on the other hand, has seemingly figured out his issues with the long ball. The right-hander has allowed two home runs over his last 11 starts after giving up seven over his first eight.

Wildness has been a problem, as he has surrendered 17 walks over his last six starts, including four his last time out. He gave up five runs - three earned - in five innings of a 7-2 loss at Cincinnati on Friday.

"I got into some counts I wanted to be in," Cashner said. "I just didn't execute late in the counts."

Cashner has posted a 3.75 ERA without allowing a home run in two starts against Colorado this season after allowing four over his first 8 2-3 innings against the Rockies (56-65).

The Padres broke out of a lengthy offensive tailspin on Tuesday. After scoring 13 runs and hitting .196 while losing five of their previous six games, they mustered seven runs and 12 hits in rallying back from a 4-1 first-inning deficit.

"You can't completely wash it out," San Diego's Jedd Gyorko said. "We showed resiliency to fight back the way we did."

Will Venable has begun August with a 10-game hitting streak, batting .368 with three home runs, two triples and three doubles.

The Rockies, meanwhile, have apparently figured out how to deal with the loss of Carlos Gonzalez, who is on the DL with a sprained right middle finger. After scoring three runs in the first three games of Gonzalez's absence, Colorado has totaled 38 in its last five.

That surge has been led by Nolan Arenado, who is batting .432 during a 10-game hitting streak. He has three doubles, a triple and four RBIs over the Rockies' last five games.

Catcher Wilin Rosario is 9 for 23 with a homer and nine RBIs in the past five, but he may miss the finale after straining his right hamstring Tuesday.

"I think he'll be sore (Wednesday)," Weiss told the team's official site. "We'll check with him, but he was pretty sore the rest of the game."